8.16.2005

No vagrancy.

We got this piece of info via Kottke via Goldenfiddle. It's a Contact Music item, so, obviously, we must tread carefully. Apparently Terry Gilliam recently checked out of an unnamed NYC hotel a few minutes late and was charged for an extra day. OK, so far, so good. We can believe that. To continue, Gilliam, in retort, decided to try to find a homeless person to stay the extra night in the room. OK. Sounds very Terry Gilliam to us. The item ends with an alleged quote from Gilliam, in which he says "I walked all the way to the East River and couldn't find a single homeless person." And that's where the story loses all credibility for us. Come on, Contact Music, there are at least three homeless people on our block. And that's not counting the Miss Cleo who sells necklaces. If this were true, Gilliam would be an idiot not to have filmed it, as the fantastical nature of the claim would rival any other fictional Gilliam narrative like Brazil or 12 Monkeys. Whither journalistic integrity, Contact Music? Whither?